Griffin's first tooth plus more..

I took the boys to Fossil Creek Park on Tuesday, as we were walking around I happened to feel something sharp in Griffin's mouth - his first tooth!! How exciting... We had noticed him drooling a lot and constantly putting his fist in his mouth, well now we know why.

Griffin has also started sleeping through the night! I finally feel like I am getting some sleep and am feeling better throughout the day. He is more regular throughout the day as well, as far as naps and eating. I recently started him on rice cereal as well, which I might add was not the reason he started sleeping through the night! That is an old wise tale. Anyways, he rejected the cereal for a while but yesterday and today he has been devouring it, I did mash a bit of banana in it and he loves it! Yeah - finally a child that seems to get the idea that eating can be enjoyable.

We are off to Ogallala tomorrow. Garry rented a house on the lake for the month. We were tired of being alone in Fort Collins and he was tired of being alone in a hotel in Ogallala, so he found a furnished house to rent. Garry drove out tonight with the Passat packed full and tomorrow evening the boys and I will make the journey. I downloaded the movie "Cars" to my iTouch for Jack to watch on the ride and hopefully Griffin will sleep the entire way since we will leave at his bedtime, 7 pm. My girlfriend, Melissa is coming over in the afternoon to help with packing and kids, but mostly my sanity. Thanks Melissa.

I am feeling sad and excited about what lies ahead. The actual thought of leaving our beautiful home in Fort Collins, the home I brought my boys home to and the many memories Garry and I have shared here makes me nostalgic. But, on the other hand I welcome the change.

5239 Cornerstone Drive

long lost friends...

So, I am slow at updating the blog lately. My days go by so quickly and I find it hard to find time to sit at the computer. Anyways, we had a great trip home to New York. During our visit I was able to reconnect with some close High School friends, Jessica Fonte and Jamie Clinton... Of course now they are married with kids. One of the highlights of the night was when Jamie's son Conner took this picture... How sweet!

Curious George at Strong Museum

Griffin had a fun day at the curious George exhibit... and Jack too.. We went with Aunt Sarah and Kate. Jack did go up to get his photo taken but by the time I was ready he was gone! Aunt Sarah was a good sport and climbed into this tiny rocket with Griffin to get this photo. Thanks Aunt Sarah. The museum has wonderful activities and adventures. I think Jack's favorite was the grocery store he just seemed to love to bake the bread and weigh the vegetables. It was fun.

Homeward bound...

Well, we made it to NY pretty smoothly ~ that is mommy, Jack and Griffin. Garry is working hard in Ogallala, so I decided to pack up the boys and spend some time with my family in NY. Jack was so excited that he packed his backpack the day before we left with some essential toys and walked around the house with it on and telling me that he was ready to go to grandma chickie's. I kept telling him it was for tomorrow and Jack would say "no, today not tomorrow." Anyways, the two flights were good. Jack was outstanding. He gave me a bit of a time going through security ~ refusing to take his shoes off. You have to know Jack but something about taking his shoes off probably made him nervous. Other than that he was great, he slept on the first flight to the point that I had to nudge him awake. On the second flight he had a window seat and was in heaven. He has been on quite a few flights but now he gets it. It was one of those moments that you lock in your memory to remember the innocence of being three. Griffin is a true ham ~ smiling at anyone that will look his way. Walking with the flight attendant and just enjoying being on mommy's lap. He did get fussy on the decents but I think his ears were bothering him. Of course, I was exhausted but pleasantly surprised at how well everything went. Now that we are here we are all enjoying having grandma chickie's love and attention. Mom is even fixing meals! Anyone that knows my mom knows that that is a stretch. Aunt Sarah and the kids came over today which was great as well. The kids (Alex, Hudson and Ethan) are getting sooo big! It makes me crazy. Jack looks up to his big cousins and had a great time playing with them and all the toys that Ethan brought over to share with Jack. Thanks cousin Ethan. Tomorrow we will pack up and spend the day with Aunt Sarah. Uncle Justin will be home Thursday and we are excited to see him as well. I will post some photos later.

1st trip golfing with daddy..

Nebraska... Here we come!

So for those of you who haven't heard we are moving... to Ogallala, Nebraska, or as my dear friend Melissa says Oga-wawa. Garry has been promoted as Manager or sort of, he still has a few hoops to jump through, a test and an interview which happen in mid-September. He will go out tomorrow for a week and act as interim Manager until then. Then Safeway will come in and put our house on the market, move us, help with buying the new home and if need be buy our current home if it doesn't sell right away... We are excited and nervous all in one. It is a good step forward for our family and the positives outway the negatives - so off we go.

Jack and Maya

Jack and Maya had a fun day at inspirational park...

Happy Griffin...

Griffin is growing and with that he has begun to sleep better. He is snoozing longer stretches which makes me happy. Last night he went down around 6:45 and slept til 3:30am, of course I couldn't sleep, my body is so use to being up at all hours but that is okay. Griffin has started rolling both ways. He was only rolling from his tummy to his back but in the last few days he has started rolling from his back to his tummy. He's continues to be pretty easy going except when he is hungry or ready to go to sleep - he lets us know. Otherwise, he smiles a lot, loves being with anyone that will look him in the eyes or hold him. He loves his hands and his tongue! He thinks it's pretty funny when you stick your tongue out at him. We are enjoying him everyday and still can't believe he is already 3 months old.

Jack's 3rd Birthday!

Jack's birthday was fun, we invited a bunch of friends and grandpa and grandma, of course. We filled the kids up with sugar, let them run wild and then sent them home with their parents... Oh, the joy of being 3! Jack loved it and can't wait for his next birthday. Here are some photos of the big day.

Griffin

Harvest with the Moore's

Thanks Ken and Mary for sharing your little piece of heaven with our tractor lover...

Jackisms...

"Mommy, the bolt is gone." "Where did the bolt go, Jack?" Jack points to his mouth and then down to his tummy...

Can you tell the difference?

Jack or Griffin???

Grandma Chickie's visit...

We had a wonderful visit with grandma chickie.. Jack truly enjoyed her and has asked more than once for grandma to come back to our house. Mom helped with so many things that I have wanted to get done, just haven't been able to with a newborn. Thanks mom.

Grandma Mary Tigges...

Grandma passed away this morning after finding out approximately one month ago that she had cancer. Grandma was an amazing woman, grandma's heritage is from Germany, which she was very proud of, German was her first language and she only spoke German when entering Kindergarten. She married Robert Tigges, and had 3 children, Kathy (Garry's mom), Gale, and Kenny. Grandma and Grandpa lived and worked on the farm that she still owns today. Grandma often spoke of Grandpa in a loving way and told us many times how Garry reminded her of Grandpa. Grandma was an avid seamstress, spoke her mind, saved everything and had a solid foundation in God. She will be missed by many and was loved by all. We love you Grandma.

Griffin and family...

Happy Fourth of July!!! We are spending the evening at Grandma and Grandpa's for food, fun, family and fireworks..

TIRED....

Tired is the theme in our house these days... Of course, a newborn brings a lack of sleep but to add to our lack of sleep we have a preschooler that is no longer wearing diapers which means that at 5:30 in the morning we will be awoken by Jack requesting potty breaks. Of course, one may think that Jack would go right back to sleep but he does not. Then there is Garry who is a night owl by nature and has been working hard either on the basement (refinishing) at night or one of his many projects for work. I keep reminding myself that one day we will return to a home where mommy gets a full nights rest...

Rainy Day

Daddy and Jack...

Jack and Hailey...

Jackisms

Early the other morning, the entire family was laying in bed. Griffin began to cry, Jack was very concerned about Griffin and said "is the baby okay?" and then went on to say "mom, don't break the baby." I replied "I won't, honey" Jack said "cause if you break the baby we would have to get another one from the doctor..." "Oh, really" Jack replied "I want a black one." I replied "well honey then mommy will have to get a new daddy." Jack did not like that idea.

Jack vs. The Potty

So, everytime I have suggested Jack using the potty he refuses. At first I thought it was a boy/girl thing since it seemed he would do it for daddy. Well, I was wrong... It's more of a Jack do it himself thing. This morning I was working on getting Jack dressed and before I did the phone rang and I ended up talking for a bit. I was sitting in the living room upstairs when I noticed Jack going into the bathroom. I decided to wait and see what would happen. After a few minutes he emerged and proudly told me he went pee-pee on the potty. Sure enough he had. So this afternoon I let him run free of clothing and sure enough I noticed him run into the bathroom. I decided to wait. Then I heard the toilet flush. Jack again came out and said "mommy, I went pee-pee" Of course, I was excited and went into the bathroom and asked "where did you go?" Jack proudly held up one of his bath nesting cups and said "in here."

GBR II

Griffin loves his fingers and thumb... He has been quite successful so far at finding them and soothing himself.

Family Life..

We are all settling in nicely with Griffin's arrival. Griffin is a true joy, he is mellow and an easy going guy. He has some special traits already and we joke that we are going to nickname him "goose" since he honks like a goose when he's nursing. He's a good eater and sleeper so far. We decided to try a night without the swaddle since he seemed to be fighting it and the night went very smooth. He's been to the park twice with his big brother, been to his first restaurant and an outing to Target. All were successful without a fuss. We have all fallen in love.

Great Grandma Tigges

Garry's grandma Mary recently was diagnosed with cancer and has gone home with Hospice. She has been suffering with ongoing pain issues since her bout of shingles almost two years ago and hope that with the help of Hospice the pain will be controlled.

Great grandma was able to meet the newest addition to the family this last week and was amazed at how strong he is. Grandma is an inspiration to all of us and we love her very much..

Uncle Justin's Visit

My brother - Justin was in Colorado for his new job with CACI and was able to make it up to Fort Collins for an overnight visit. Jack took to Justin immediately and became his shadow for the entire visit. Jack was spoiled by Justin and all the attention he gave to Jack. It was a nice visit and we were all sad to see him go..

Thank You...

A big thank you to all of our many friends that stepped up to help us during our time of need. Thank you to our great neighbors the Johnson's for coming over Friday morning to take care of Jack until reinforcements arrived, for our balloons and tomorrows pot roast (we are looking forward to it). Thank you to my dear Elexa for leaving work (sadly) and driving up to Fort Collins to take care of Jack and spend the night here!! We couldn't have done it without you.. Thank you to Dustin (firefighter friend) that came to the hospital to properly install our car seat since we hadn't had a chance to get that done.. Thank you to my dear friend Melissa - for your support, for your meals, for your ongoing care of Jack and for your birthing support during the entire delivery. I couldn't have done it without you.. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful support system around us... Thanks for all the gifts and love everyone has showered us with. Garry, Maura, Jack and Griffin

Griffin Brahm Rickart

Griffin Brahm Rickart is finally here!! Born - May 16th, 2008 at 2:26 pm, Weight - 7 lbs. 9 oz., Length - 20.5 inches. Griffin is healthy and strong. He arrived in this world so quickly (6 minutes) that he had "skid marks" on his head, that's what the nurses were saying... The delivery was fast and furious. I didn't have time to get an epidural, so needless to say it all went so quick. We came home the following day and are enjoying settling in as a new family. Jack is doing great. He proudly showed Griffin his excavators, has given him toys to play with, helped change his diaper, helped wipe his mouth and much more. He has been a helper to mommy, bringing me water this morning without being asked and proudly introducing Griffin to our neighbor. So far so good... We are proud of both of our boys and enjoying our new journey.

Big Boy Jack

Today was a very grown up day for Jack... First at nap time, I said "let's go upstairs and read books for nap" Jack said "no, I do it". He ran ahead of me and grabbed a book, I was putting some things away and heard him talking as he looked through the book, then I saw him jump from the couch run into his room and close the door. I thought hmmm, what's he up to? Then the door opened and he ran out and asked me to take his shorts off. I did. Then he turned around said "night" and went to bed. I just smiled at my independent boy. Then later today - some neighbor kids ran down to our house with their mom and asked if Jack could come to their house and play. I looked at Jack and said "do you want to go to Bonnie's house to play" Jack said "Oh, sure." and walked away. He didn't look back once. I came inside, felt my eyes well up and called GBR. He is not a baby anymore or even a toddler for that matter - he's a boy. We just love this age so much and it is changing so quickly...

Midwife Visit

I start my weekly visits to the midwife this week. Today's visit went well. The midwife checked the baby and he is no longer breech... Yeah. I spoke with her about labor and delivery. I have been so busy with life, school, Jack, etc. that I haven't given a lot of thought to the labor or delivery - Yikes..

Haircut

Jack got a haircut tonight... He loves to pull apart my jewelry box and knows that it is a special treat, so he sits still and doesn't complain. Works like a charm.

Rockies Game

Tuesday we went to Jack's first Rockies game... Our friend's Melissa and Maya were able to go with us. We bought Jack his very own cotton candy and after one bite he decided that the stick inside the cotton candy was much more interesting, so he peeled off the layers of cotton candy and handed it to daddy... Although the Rockies lost, it was a nice evening with friends.